Scene opens in front of the OPM building in downtown Washington DC. A bus pulls up and stops at the curb. A banner on the side of the bus reads "The nation's largest employer wants you. USAJobs - Working for America, www dot usajobs dot gov."

Scene fades and shifts to the inside of the bus, where Thea, a hiring manager, and Guy, a human resources professional, are disembarking the bus.

Thea says to Guy, "I just have a few things to take care of before the job fair. I'll swing by your office when I'm ready."

Guy responds: "Sounds good." His attention is diverted to a scene outside the bus. He turns his head and asks "What on Earth is going on over there?"

Outside, a woman holds a butterfly net, and is sneaking up on something behind a tree. Her quarry is a purple squirrel. She swings with the net and misses as the squirrel disappears. Suddenly, the squirrel is in the tree canopy, looking down at the woman mockingly.

Guy walks up to the woman: "Hi, what are you doing?"

The woman, Chelsea, says "I'm recruiting", brandishing the net, and continues her hunt for the squirrel, which always seems to be one step ahead of her.

"What?" asks Guy, perplexed.

"I have a position to fill!" Chelsea responds as she leaps at the squirrel again, landing in a row of bushes.

"Hold on." Guy says. "I think I know what's going on here. Are you after the perfect candidate?"

Chelsea emerges from the bushes with a twig sticking from her hair. "Yes!" she agrees.

"You're going about it the wrong way." Guy explains. "Chasing perfect who don't really exist is not an effective recruitment strategy."

Chelsea pauses her hunt and walks toward Guy. "Really? But I thought hiring managers have to be involved in the recruitment and hiring process."

"Well, you are," Guy says, pulling the twig from Chelsea's hair, "but this isn't what we had in mind."

"Who is 'we'?" Chelsea asks, suspiciously. "By the way, I'm Chelsea, and as you can tell," she adds, holding up her net again, "I have a job I need to fill."

Guy puts out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I HR Guy." They shake hands. "Come with me, and we'll talk about effective recruitment strategies and what you can do to find some great candidates to fill your open position." Chelsea follows Guy into the OPM building.

The scene changes to Guy's office. Guy and Chelsea are talking. "Give me your net." Guy motions for Chelsea to hand it over. "I'll add it to the pile of others."

Chelsea hands over the net and Guy drops it in a corner of his office. The purple squirrel pops his head around a corner, observing. Chelsea and Guy sit. "Guy what am I going to do?" Chelsea asks. "I have spent so much time trying to find the perfect candidate. I must be getting close."

Guy takes a breath, then explains "Chelsea, it's like you're chasing a purple squirrel." The squirrel's head pops up again. "There is no such thing. How about if we partner in this effort?" The squirrel vanishes again. "You will be involved in the recruitment and hiring process, and I'll listen closely to what you need, and together we'll find the right person to fill your job."

"Well I certainly haven't been successful with that net." admits Chelsea. "I'm definitely up for a different approach."

"Perfect." says Guy. "First, we'll need to determine what's needed to do the job so we know what competencies to put in the job opportunity announcement. In other words, what duties need to be performed," Chelsea begins to write some notes, "and what knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed for those duties? We call that a job analysis."

"Got it." Chelsea flips her paper up to show Guy. On it is an image of the purple squirrel, representative of the ideal candidate for the job.

Guy pauses, "OK. Some of these requirements, such as written communication, make sense because one of the major duties is writing technical reports. On the other hand, some of these competencies may be nice to have, but aren't essential. Talk to me. What are some of the key requirements of the job?"

"Well I definitely need someone who has extensive cybersecurity knowledge and experience," Chelsea starts explaining. As she does, Guy begins taking notes of his own. "has excellent writing skills, and can give briefings to managers."

Guy holds up his notes. "OK, something like this?" On the sheet is written the title "Competencies" underneath are the subheads "Extensive cybersecurity knowledge and experience", "Excellent writing skills", and "Excellent verbal communication skills" On the background of the paper, a group of several real people appears.

"Ah, that's exactly what I"m looking for!" Exclaims Chelsea. "How did you know this is what I really need?"

"By listening to you and asking the right questions." Responds Guy.

"Excellent. What do we do now that we've identified the competencies we're looking for?" asks Chelsea.

"We will develop the job announcement together." Replies Guy. "We need to make sure potential applicants understand you need people who can write techincal reports - written communication; have extensive cybersecurity experience and knowledge - technical competency; and have effective oral communication skills."

Chelsea asks "Can I play a part in developing the questions I want the applicants to answer to help draw out the ones who have the competencies I need?"

"Absolutely." Guy says. "Asking the right questions upfront is the best way to ensure only qualified candidates are referred to you. The more involved you are upfront in the recruitment and hiring process the more success you will have with finding the right person for the job."

"Is there anything else I can do to help reduce the time it takes to hire?" Chelsea asks.

"Yes." says Guy. "Before you receive the certificate, you should block out time on your calendar for interviewing the candidates on that certificate. I would block out at leas five one-hour sessions. While recruiting the right candidate is essentiall, making sure you interview and select someone in a timely manner is just as important."

"That makes perfect sense to me." responds Chelsea. "Too often I wait until the last minute, and then it takes me another 30 days just to clear my calendar. Thank you for the suggestion!"

"That's what I'm here for." declares Guy.

Thea pokes her head in the door and asks Guy "Are you ready Guy?"

Guy introduces Chelsea and Thea. "Thea, this is Chelsea. We were just discussing the position she's eager to fill."

"Ah" Thea says "that explains the net!"

"Yes." Guy laughs. "And as a matter of fact Chelsea, Thea and I are just on our way to do some recruiting at a job fair. Would you like to join us?"

"Really?" Chelsea asks. "Me?"

"Yeah," Guy explains, "it would be a great opportunity for you to start meeting candidates, and you'll get some hands-on recruitment experience."

Chelsea thinks for a second. "You know, why not?" She says. "I am quite eager to fill this position."

The scene changes to the outside of a job fair. As a bus pulls away from the front of the building, the purple squirrel leans against a bus stop sign. Thea waves from the bus as it pulls away.